To be fair, things have been better at Pennyhill than they are right now.

Everybody is really disappointed with both collective and individual performances against France.

A lot has been mentioned in the Press about the effect of food poisoning in the squad, and whilst undoubtedly it was a factor and contributed to the number of substitutions made - none of the squad are using it as an excuse.

We know that our performance was just not good enough.

On the day the team did not play as well as we are capable of. We made too many mistakes to win an international game of rugby.

The team have been in meetings discussing problem areas, the aim being to iron them out and then move forward.

It's so important that we get on with it, as we need to go into the Ireland game with a positive attitude.

It's the last game for us and it's at Twickenham, which is always good.

The whole squad are desperate to finish the tournament as we started it with a performance like the one we put in against Wales.

The team don't need any more incentives to do well in this weekend's game; we want to finish the tournament on a high note - even if the chance of winning the championship has gone.

If we beat Ireland then we'll have won more than we've lost, and in terms of progression from this time last year then that will be a step forward although not as big as we'd like!

There have been lots of changes to the squad this week. I think Andy Robinson wants to try out a few different people in certain positions to see how they fare.

It's hard for the guys that have been dropped or are now on the bench as no one likes to be left out.

But, if we want to build a squad for the World Cup it is important that as many players as possible have exposure to international rugby so there is a good depth of players from which the coaches can choose from.

The one great thing about the changes is that my Newcastle team-mate Dave Walder is going to be on the bench as fly half.

It is so good for me to have another Falcons boy down at Pennyhill as it makes a difference, and it is great for Dave to be involved, as he is a fantastic player.

I am really excited as I know this is a perfect opportunity for him to show both Andy Robinson and the supporters just what he can do!

My wife Rachael and son Lewis are coming down to watch their first game of the tournament, which will be great as it is always good to know that they are on the sideline.